Recruiting Experience (Landed MF during On-cycle)

Hey everyone, I'm a first-year at a BB who recently went through on-cycle and signed with a MF.

Learned a lot throughout the process (handling HH calls, doing modeling/case studies, nuances of different PE firms, talking about deals, prepping for technicals/behaviorals) and have been tutoring my whole life, so wanted to combine the two.

My experience was largely similar to another post here - I prepped maybe 2-3 h/week in July and began prepping much more intensely the week HH calls came out. Spoke with almost all HH and had a pretty strong sense of fund size/sector/geography, so there were only a handful of firms I wanted to interview at during this cycle. On Friday, I received calls simultaneously for ~10 interviews and went to one NY-based MF, where I was ultimately cut. Decided to try at another firm before sitting out, where I went through a technical round, 7 VP/senior rounds, a 1-hour model and a few case studies before ultimately signing. Whole process lasted around 8 hours.

Please reach out if interested and happy to answer any questions!

16 Comments
 
Most Helpful

For modeling, I used Peak extensively. Learned the template first, memorized the overall format, and was then able to do the models from scratch under the time limit. I think level 3 was more than enough for me, but for some firms I wouldn't be surprised if there were level 4/5 concepts.

For casing, I mainly used CIMs and old case studies (for example the ones on Peak). There were some themes that I found over time that I could apply well to different case studies. 

Other than that, I think your usual technicals/behaviorals guides are still relevant.

 

petutor23:

For modeling, I used Peak extensively. Learned the template first, memorized the overall format, and was then able to do the models from scratch under the time limit. I think level 3 was more than enough for me, but for some firms I wouldn't be surprised if there were level 4/5 concepts.

For casing, I mainly used CIMs and old case studies (for example the ones on Peak). There were some themes that I found over time that I could apply well to different case studies. 

Other than that, I think your usual technicals/behaviorals guides are still relevant.

What is CIM?

 

Any guesses to why you were dinged at the first MF? Do you also have any unconventional on-cycle tips that were helpful for you and haven't been mentioned on this forum already?

 

Eos qui cupiditate ex necessitatibus in nemo. Tempora odio rem exercitationem omnis odit quis incidunt. Voluptas iure iste vel dignissimos.

Iure iusto non assumenda magnam consequatur aut rerum sit. Aut voluptatibus eligendi consequatur facere expedita non provident et. Alias ab perferendis aut ab. Esse nemo qui dolorem assumenda.

Et doloremque labore occaecati dolor esse rerum. Molestias ut quam aliquid. Est molestiae voluptatum aliquid nostrum voluptas sed mollitia. Qui eos perferendis corporis quisquam. Aliquid autem labore voluptas qui. Quasi natus necessitatibus expedita aut.

Laborum explicabo est et magni. Eum veniam et fuga aliquid.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.2%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (100) $364
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (106) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (236) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (414) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (274) $126
  • Intern/Summer Associate (40) $79
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (357) $61
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”